Ex-counterterrorism official Joe Kent endorses GOP Senate primary challenger as Trump backs Lindsey Graham

June 5, 2026 2:08pm EDT / Fox News

Kent urged South Carolina voters to back Mark Lynch in Tuesday’s primary to stop ‘endless foreign wars’

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News

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Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent endorsed South Carolina Republican U.S. Senate primary candidate Mark Lynch, calling incumbent GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham a “war hawk, neocon.”

South Carolinians who would like to “stop sending billions of dollars overseas” and “stop us from getting entangled in endless foreign wars in the Middle East,” have the opportunity “to do all of us a great service and vote to get Lindsey Graham out of office this Tuesday, June 9th,” Kent declared in part of a video message posted to social media on Thursday.

“Vote for Mark Lynch,” Kent urged, calling Lynch “the America First candidate” and asserting that Lynch “is the best postured right now to get the war hawk, neocon, Lindsey Graham out of office.”

Graham campaign press secretary Abby Zilch said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “Mark Lynch is touting an endorsement from a man that President Trump called a ‘SLEAZEBAG,’ ‘LEAKER,’ and a ‘LOSER.’”

EX-COUNTERTERRORISM CHIEF WARNS OF ‘MAJOR PROBLEM’ THAT COULD FORCE US ‘BACK INTO THE WAR ON IRAN’S TERMS’

Joseph Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 11, 2025.(Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“This is to be expected since Lynch wants ‘more Massies’ in Congress,” Zilch wrote. “Senator Graham is proud to have the complete and total endorsements of President Trump, Governor McMaster, Senator Tim Scott, Congressman Russell Fry, Congressman Joe Wilson, Congressman William Timmons, National Right to Life, SC Citizens for Life, Tea Party Express, and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.”

In a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, Lynch said, “Joe Kent is an honorable man who has dedicated his life to serving this country. He also lost his wife, Shannon Kent, the mother of his two young children. She was a Senior Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy and was killed in Syria in a 2019 terrorist attack.

“Joe Kent is a patriot, and I am honored to have his endorsement, along with the support of many great American patriots, including Gregory Bovino, former Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector; Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn; the National Association for Gun Rights; Equal Protection South Carolina; Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood director and pro-life advocate; Republicans for National Renewal; South Carolina State Reps. Thomas Beach, Joe White, Jay Kilmartin, Mike Burns, & Ryan McCabe,” Lynch added.

Trump, who endorsed Graham for re-election last year, blasted Lynch in a Truth Social post earlier this year.

“Senator Lindsey Graham is doing a fantastic job. He is running against a LUNATIC named Mark Lynch, who supports perhaps the Worst Congressman in the History of our Country, Thomas Massie, of the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky. I don’t have to go into great detail, but needless to say, Mark Lynch would be a DISASTER for the Republican Party, and Lindsey Graham just, GETS THE JOB DONE. VOTE FOR LINDSEY ALL THE WAY. MAGA!” Trump declared in the April Truth Social post.

Lynch has previously expressed support for Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who lost his GOP primary in Kentucky last month.

“We need more MTGs and Gaetzes and Massies. Zero question about it,” Lynch wrote in a March post on X, referring to former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, former Rep. Matt Gaetz and Massie.

Massie, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since late 2012, lost the Republican congressional primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District last month to Trump-endorsed challenger Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL.

In part of a Thursday Truth Social post, Trump declared, “This Tuesday, June 9th, all Republicans in South Carolina should vote for Lindsey Graham — HE HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT, AND WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”

FOUR SENATE REPUBLICANS AGAIN UNITE WITH DEMS TO BLOCK TRUMP’S SAVE AMERICA ACT

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Lynch speaks at a Freedom Friday event in at Momma Rabbit’s Nibbles and Sips in Lexington, S.C., on June 25, 2025.(Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Kent quit his government post back in March, citing his opposition to the Iran war.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent wrote in his resignation letter.

Trump said in part of an April Truth Social post that Kent “was really a SLEAZEBAG, and some would say, on top of it all, A LEAKER!” The president added he didn’t “know whether or not that was true” and called Kent “a LOSER.”

LINDSEY GRAHAM WARNS REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS TRYING TO ‘DESTROY’ TRUMP IS A LOSING GAME AFTER CASSIDY DEFEAT

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., reacts as President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the Kennedy Center on Aug. 13, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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Graham has served in the U.S. Senate since 2003.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6395872945112

Congress didn’t kill Trump’s $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund. So where does it stand?

2026-06-05 1:55 PM ET / CNN

By Kaanita Iyer

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche arrives for a closed-door meeting with Republican senators who are expected to abandon a proposal for $1 billion in security money for the White House complex and President Donald Trump’s ballroom after it has failed to win enough party support, at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on May 21.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Senate Republicans rejected multiple attempts to kill President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund amid bipartisan concerns and a temporary court ruling against it.

The Trump administration announced the creation of the $1.776 billion fund last month. The effort would allow the government to use taxpayer money to pay those who claim they were victims of political prosecutions by the Biden administration.

Critics of the fund have said it would serve as a slush fund for Trump’s allies. Some lawmakers, including key Republicans, raised concerns that the fund lacks guardrails. Lawmakers were particularly concerned that payouts would go to rioters, including those who assaulted police officers, at the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, which the Trump administration didn’t rule out.

Here’s where the status of the fund stands.

The fund has faced at least two legal challenges, including from a watchdog group and from police officers who defended the Capitol during the riot.

Last week, a federal judge in Virginia temporarily blocked the administration from taking steps to set up the fund and barred it from releasing any funds from it. But that ruling was highly technical: It didn’t address the legality of the program but was instead intended to get the court time to review a lawsuit seeking to kill the program in full.

The Trump administration is expected to file its response to the lawsuit in court on Friday.

In the meantime, the issue created a rift among Republicans in Congress with some stalling on considering an immigration funding bill until the White House committed to dropping the compensation fund.

In an attempt to convince Congress to vote for the immigration bill, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told House lawmakers on Tuesday that the Justice Department will not be “moving forward with the fund, period.”

Democratic Rep. Grace Meng then asked, “Not moving forward, ever?,” to which Blanche responded, “Correct.”

Ultimately, Republicans didn’t want to derail one of Trump’s key legislative priorities, and advanced the immigration bill without any language formally killing the fund early Friday after hours of talks between GOP leaders and Republican holdouts. One party member still defected.

Meanwhile, the president has not been so unequivocal, giving mixed signals about the future of the fund.

Trump, a day after Blanche’s vow to lawmakers, said that he doesn’t know if the fund is dead, which has led to confusion about its status.

“I’d have to ask the lawyers, I don’t know,” he said when asked whether the fund is fully dead or just on hold. “As far as I’m concerned, it was a beautiful thing.”

The fund is a result of a settlement between the Internal Revenue Service and Trump, two of his sons and the Trump Organization, after the president dropped his $10 billion lawsuit alleging that the IRS failed to protect them from an unauthorized leak of their tax returns.

Trump himself will not receive any payments, but will receive a formal apology, the Justice Department has said.

So far, the fund remains temporarily blocked by a court — but its future ultimately depends on who you ask.

CNN’s Devan Cole, Aileen Graef, Sarah Ferris, Lauren Fox, Manu Raju, Ted Barrett, Alison Main, Adam Cancryn, Kaitlan Collins, Hannah Rabinowitz, Tierney Sneed, Casey Gannon, and Paula Reid contributed to this report.

Trump says he wants Bill Pulte to “start the process” of shrinking intelligence office

June 5, 2026 / 2:45 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — President Trump on Friday told the Wall Street Journal that he wants Bill Pulte, his controversial pick to run the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to “start the process” of eliminating some workers and shrinking the office.

Mr. Trump told the Journal that the ODNI, which oversees the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies, is “unnecessary” or “too big,” and lamented holdovers from prior administrations. The president said the ODNI “should maybe even be terminated.”

“I’d like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there,” the president said. Asked if he is calling on Pulte to fire ODNI workers, Mr. Trump said he wants Pulte to “start the process” that can be continued by a permanent director.

“We’ve made the Department of Education much smaller, and likewise, this should be much smaller,” the president told the paper. “And this should maybe even be terminated, and we’ll make that decision.”

Later on Air Force One Friday, the president didn’t outright confirm that Pulte will be making cuts at the agency but said, “I wouldn’t mind that,” and said the workforce at ODNI is “way too high.”

As an acting director, Pulte can serve for 210 days from when he starts the role. He’s also continuing to run the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“You’re less shackled,” the president told the Journal, referring to Pulte operating in an acting role. “It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time.”

“Frankly, it might be good for him to shake it up before people come,” Mr. Trump added.

An ODNI official said Gabbard already reduced agency staff by nearly 50% and saved taxpayers nearly $1 billion in a part of an effort dubbed “ODNI 2.0.” Gabbard, the official noted, has long said she was willing to be the last director of national intelligence if it was determined ODNI was unnecessary.

“We look forward to working with Mr. Pulte and President Trump on additional initiatives to advance savings and root out deep state bad actors,” the ODNI official said.

The president told reporters on Air Force One Friday that he’s interviewing five people for the permanent post at ODNI.

On Thursday, Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Pulte may look into “rigged elections,” an apparent reference to the 2020 presidential election. As FHFA director, Pulte launched mortgage fraud investigations into Trump foes despite GOP concerns, demonstrating he doesn’t shy from political controversy.

“He’s a very smart guy and he may find out some things about the rigged elections, etc., etc.,” the president said. “I think he’d like to do it. I’d like to — I think he wants to do it very much. Got a lot of energy. But he’ll be very good.”

On Thursday, the president was asked if Pulte is qualified for the intelligence role, given that he has no known national security experience. Mr. Trump suggested Pulte is “smart” and will pick up on the job quickly.

“I think he does, actually, because he’s smart,” Mr. Trump responded. “Look, I wasn’t greatly experienced in national security and I think I’ve done a really great job with it, a lot of people would say that.”

The president’s selection of Pulte hasn’t gone over well on Capitol Hill, where senators on Friday failed to pass a reauthorization of a key surveillance program under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Some lawmakers have said they won’t support the extension with Pulte overseeing the country’s intelligence agencies.

Olivia Gazis and Kristin Brown contributed to this report.

US says it will give almost $38 million more for Ebola response

2026-06-05T18:50:59.627Z / Reuters

By Reuters

June 5, 2026 6:50 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

Congolese children Ibrah Asimwe and Alex Uketi read an advocacy poster as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain outbreak, in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 20, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/ Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

June 5 (Reuters) – The United States ​will give nearly $38 million in ‌additional funding toward its Ebola response efforts, bringing the total so far to more ​than $200 million in direct funding, ​the State Department said in a ⁠statement on Friday.

The department, which did ​not detail how the money would ​be spent, said it was working closely with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and ​Prevention, as well as the ​Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to “mount ‌a ⁠rapid and comprehensive response” to the Ebola outbreak.

Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here.

The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has ​resulted in ​344 confirmed ⁠cases of the disease and 60 deaths, according to ​the World Health Organization.

The State ​Department ⁠says U.S. citizens exposed to the virus but with no symptoms would ⁠be quarantined ​in Kenya at a ​facility it is building.

Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing ​by Ryan Patrick Jones and Aurora Ellis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

First on CNN: DOJ sends prosecutor to observe LA ballot counting amid Trump’s baseless ‘cheating’ claims

2026-06-05T19:40:31.951Z / CNN

By Tierney Sneed, Ethan Cohen

20 min ago

PUBLISHED Jun 5, 2026, 3:40 PM ET

An election worker processes mail-in ballots at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center during California’s state primary election in the City of Industry, California, on June 2, 2026.

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

The Justice Department sent one of its attorneys to observe ballot processing in Los Angeles Friday morning, the county’s elections office told CNN, after President Donald Trump claimed earlier this week the US Attorney’s office there was investigating the vote counting.

A spokesperson for the county registrar-recorder said “our office was notified late yesterday that the U.S. Attorney’s Office would send an Assistant U.S. Attorney to the Ballot Processing Center to observe ballot processing activities.”

“The individual arrived this morning, was provided an overview of the public observation program, and participated in a walkthrough of the ballot processing operations,” the spokesperson, Mike Sanchez said in an email, noting that ballot processing in the county is open to public observation.

Trump has claimed repeatedly, without evidence, that the slow pace of the count from Tuesday’s primary was a sign of Democratic “cheating.” Several key races in the state have not been called, and California has long had a reputation for being slow to report the results. This is, in part, because a significant number of the total votes come in as mail ballots that are dropped off Election Day, according to the California Voter Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the election process.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Earlier Friday, First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli — a Trump appointee who leads the Los Angeles-based US Attorney’s office — said his office had “multiple election fraud investigations underway” in a social media post that bashed California’s election system.

The US attorneys office in LA confirmed that one of its lawyers was sent to observe the ballot counting, but did not respond to CNN’s inquiry about whether that move was connected to the fraud investigations Essayli touted on social media.

The county registrar-recorder’s office has defended its processes, writing on social media Thursday that its “dedicated staff is working hard to ensure that every vote is accurately processed and verified for counting.”

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told CNN in a statement that it had “not received any complaints from the federal government regarding criminal misconduct related to vote-counting or fraud in the Los Angeles County primary election.”

Closely watched races

California this year has two marquee races — the governor’s race and the contest for Los Angeles mayor — that feature prominent Republicans. The top two finishers in each race will advance to the November general election.

People vote at a polling location at the Metro Headquarters Building during California’s state primary election in Los Angeles, California, on June 2, 2026.

Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Typically, as more votes are counted, Democratic candidates improve their standing compared to Republicans, and that pattern has been borne out this year. This happens because votes cast in person on Election Day are almost entirely reported on election night, while the votes counted later are predominately mail ballots. In recent years, Democrats have been much more likely to vote by mail while Republicans have preferred to vote in person on Election Day.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber noted in a statement Thursday that state law gives election officials 30 days to complete the counting and certification process.

“(O)ur commitment is immediate: in California, every ballot is counted properly and every ballot is accounted for,” the statement said.

This story is developing and will be updated.

Judge orders detention of ex-CIA official found with $40 million in gold bars

June 5, 2026 2:15 PM EDT / CBS News

By Callie Teitelbaum, Kelly Jones

A judge ordered the detention of an ex-CIA official found with gold bars worth about $40 million in his home last month.

U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick said in a detention hearing Friday that David Rush must remain in custody pending trial, determining that he poses a severe flight risk. Fitzpatrick said Rush has the means and motive to flee law enforcement and evade detection.

David Rush was charged with one count of stealing public money. Alexandria Sheriff’s Office

In May, as FBI investigators were looking into whether Rush had lied about his educational and military background, they searched his home and discovered 303 gold bars, $2 million in cash and more than 30 luxury watches. The government’s lawyers alleged he was diversifying funds into commodities that could be traded. They claimed there is “strong evidence” Rush was trying to hide the funds.

During the open part of the hearing, which followed an hourlong sealed hearing, government lawyers called Rush a “master manipulator” who lied to his neighbors about being a pilot, lied to his co-workers and leveraged his “access to seniority.” A Justice Department lawyer said Rush “cannot be trusted” and is “fully willing and able to skirt the rules.”

Rush is currently being held in solitary confinement.

So far, Rush, who attended the Alexandria, Virginia, hearing Friday, only faces one charge alleging about $70,000 in fraudulent timesheets.

Prosecutors said large sums of funds remain unaccounted for, but Rush’s defense attorney, Jessica Carmichael, said all the gold bars have been recovered and are a “non-issue.” She said that when the FBI searched his home, Rush told the FBI about the gold bars and gave them the codes to access them in his basement.

The government contended Rush should not have had the gold bars in his home. The funds that are not yet accounted for may have been a reference to foreign currency, but Rush’s lawyer said the government has not provided any information about how the foreign currency was intended to be used or what steps it has taken to find it. An FBI affidavit alleges that around November 2025 to March 2026, Rush made several requests to obtain a significant amount of foreign currency.

Carmichael said it’s “not the defense’s burden to find foreign currency that’s unaccounted for.” She argued that the government is bringing “sensational” allegations.

“Mr. Rush never claimed the gold bars to be his,” she said in court.

Carmichael said that while some of Rush’s defense claims may “sound bizarre and secretive,” the nature of his job “can be bizarre and secretive.” She contended that Rush could have been held at home with an ankle monitor, rather than remaining in custody.

Rush’s attorney characterized the Justice Department’s allegations as being “like Whack-a-Mole” but said she’s playing with “a blindfold on.” Carmichael also said that during the sealed portion of the hearing, she learned about new evidence. She told the court she had asked prosecutors about discovery and did not receive a response.

FBI Director Kash Patel, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche briefed Gang of 8 lawmakers on the case earlier this week, sources said.

Sarah N. Lynch contributed to this report.

Bessent flips script on shouting Democrat: ‘No wonder people are leaving’ his blue state

June 5, 2026 12:20pm EDT / Fox News

The Treasury secretary jabbed Rep Brad Schneider over Illinois’ net outbound migration during a Ways and Means hearing

By Charles Creitz, Fox News

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was shouted at during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing this week by a Chicago-area Democrat amid a heated exchange over the Trump economy.

Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., followed several other Democrats in condemning rising prices during the Iran conflict, while Bessent repeatedly pushed back on assertions about his policies by pointing to higher commodity prices during the Biden administration.

At one point in the exchange, Bessent slammed Schneider’s Democrat-run Illinois for driving people away through its own economic policies — a comment that incensed the lawmaker.

Bessent first jabbed at Schneider after the Democrat asked whether he wanted to “correct the record” on a prior statement about the Iran conflict being “ended,” asking the secretary whether Iran was no longer a threat to Israel or U.S. allies and whether its offensive weaponry had been destroyed.

TOP FIERY MOMENTS AS DEMOCRATS CLASH WITH TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT IN CHAOTIC HILL HEARINGS

U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing on “proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2027 for the Department of the Treasury” on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on April 22, 2026.(SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

Bessent smiled and asked if that meant Schneider was “in agreement” with President Donald Trump — as the Democrat had listed off all the president’s goals otherwise ridiculed by critics.

“Unless an American life is lost, he does not believe that he will have to restart the kinetic attacks,” Bessent said.

Schneider became increasingly agitated and reclaimed his time as the back-and-forth grew heated.

Schneider connected the Iran conflict with increased commodities prices, saying that the cost of living is continuing to rise and blaming Bessent and his boss for overseeing such spikes.

Bessent countered that the Treasury calculated the current core inflation rate at 2.8%, close to the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal, and quipped to Schneider that “you can list off the most expensive groceries that have had the biggest price increases.”

HOW TRUMP HANDED THE DEMOCRATS A GIFT BY SEEMING TO DISMISS FINANCIAL WORRIES OF AMERICANS

Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., left, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, right.(Graeme Sloan/Getty Images; Nathan Posner/Getty Images)

When Schneider responded that Bessent was out of touch and reiterated that he blamed Trump tariffs for commodity spikes for his Chicago-area constituents, Bessent smiled and offered him an invitation on how to fix that.

“Well, you Democrats should know — no wonder so many people are leaving Illinois. Why don’t you come see me in South Carolina?” Bessent said, as Schneider continued in an elevated tone and claimed people were not leaving the Land of Lincoln.

“You’re saying Illinois doesn’t have net outbound migration?” Bessent quipped.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6397468758112

Schneider then changed the subject to Trump’s settlement with the IRS over former Booz Allen Hamilton contractor Charles Littlejohn’s leak of his and others’ tax returns.

When Schneider fumed that no one, including Trump, is “above the law,” Bessent said that the president is also not “beneath the law” and blamed Schneider’s party for “weaponizing the system.”

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“His taxes should never be leaked. No taxpayer information should be leaked…” Schneider began before Bessent injected his dry humor again.

“Then, congressman, would you like to apologize to the president right now on behalf [of your party]?”

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

By

Katelyn Polantz

,

Tierney Sneed

2 hr ago

PUBLISHED Jun 5, 2026, 1:46 PM ET

The U.S. Capitol building on May 20, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Samuel Corum/Sipa USA/AP

Summary

• The chief of staff to a Texas Republican congressman has been charged with bringing a firearm into the US Capitol complex, according to court documents.
• Luis Angel Vega allegedly carried a pistol and ammunition through security in December without a license to carry, the documents say.
• Vega told Capitol Police he usually enters the building with Rep. Pete Sessions, who is exempt from security screening, according to the documents.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

The chief of staff for Rep. Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican, was charged Wednesday with bringing a firearm into the US Capitol complex, according to court documents obtained by CNN.

Luis Angel Vega is expected to make an appearance in DC Superior court Friday on the charges, which stem from an alleged incident in December.

Capitol security officers found the black pistol Vega and ammunition allegedly carried when Vega sent his bag through a security checkpoint at the entrance of a House office building that’s part of the Capitol complex, the court documents said. They then instructed Vega to lock up the firearm in his car and then return for his bag to be re-screened, which he did, according to the filings.

The charging documents describe a telephone interview that US Capitol Police conducted with Vega a week after the alleged December 22 episode. Vega told the police officer that he did not have a license to carry the pistol, according to the court filings, and that usually he enters the House office building with Sessions — referred to was “Witness-1” in the documents — who is exempt from being screened by the mags.

“The day of the offense was out of the ordinary in that Witness-1 entered the building separately from the defendant and the defendant forgot there was a pistol in his bag,” the court filings said.

It is not clear why the warrant for Vega’s arrest was issued months after the incident, prompting his first court appearance set for Friday.

CNN reached out to Session’s office for comment. A lawyer for Vega has not yet been identified.

The US Capitol Police and US Attorney’s office in DC didn’t immediately return requests for comment.

Vega faces two counts: carrying a gun outside his home without a license and carrying a firearm onto the Capitol grounds.

CNN’s Ellis Kim and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.

Rhode Island judge refers DOJ lawyers for possible discipline over handling of transgender care investigation

June 5, 2026 / 3:09 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — A federal judge in Rhode Island referred Justice Department lawyers for possible discipline on Friday over their handling of an investigation into transgender youth care at a hospital in the state, after previously finding that the lawyers misled the court and withheld information.

The referral came after U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy quashed an administrative subpoena that the Justice Department issued to the hospital seeking years of sensitive medical information for every minor transgender patient who received medical care at Rhode Island Hospital, as part of a sprawling investigation into gender-transition treatments.

McElroy, who was appointed by President Trump in 2019, wrote in a decision last month that the subpoena lacked a congressionally authorized purpose and was issued “for an improper purpose in bad faith.” She also lambasted the Justice Department in her ruling, calling the difference between the “honorable conduct” expected of prosecutors and the department’s tactics in the case “unsettling.”

The Justice Department, she wrote in her May 14 opinion, “possesses immense prosecutorial authority and discretion. As citizens, we trust that federal prosecutors, when wielding this awesome power against a state, a company, or certainly against vulnerable children, will play fair and be honest with its counterparts and the judiciary. DOJ has proven unworthy of this trust at every point in this case. “

McElroy went on to accuse Justice Department lawyers of misrepresenting facts under oath and withholding information from her court and a federal court in the Northern District of Texas. She accused government lawyers of doing so “in an obvious effort to shield its recent investigative tactics — previously rejected by every other court to review them — from this Court’s review, in favor of a distant forum that DOJ deems friendly to its political positions.”

The judge was referring to the Justice Department’s decision to seek an order from a judge in Fort Worth, Texas, that would compel Rhode Island Hospital to turn over the documents sought by the administrative subpoena last year.

In its effort to obtain the order from the Texas court, a Justice Department lawyer named Lisa Hsiao said in a declaration that Rhode Island Hospital failed to comply with the subpoena and stopped communicating with the department in February. But McElroy, the Rhode Island judge, said that claim was “clearly misleading, if not utterly false,” because representatives from Rhode Island Hospital had responded to an email from Justice Department lawyers about search terms for compliance with the subpoena.

“This reckless disregard for the duty of candor owed to a federal court is appalling,” McElroy wrote.

The judge also questioned the Justice Department’s decision to pursue enforcement of the subpoena in Texas, noting that Hsiao and other government lawyers who appear to be assigned to the investigation are based in Washington, D.C. Still, the Texas court went on to grant the Justice Department’s bid to enforce compliance with the subpoena and ordered Rhode Island Hospital in late April to turn over all records covered by the demand. The hospital has appealed the decision.

The Justice Department’s Civil Division denied McElroy’s claims about its lawyers in a statement earlier this week.

“Such accusations against Department attorneys are rare and serious. The Department treats them accordingly and is committed to taking all appropriate remedial action where warranted,” it said.

The Justice Department continued: “The Civil Division has thoroughly reviewed the District Court’s allegations and concluded that they are without merit. Our attorneys did not misrepresent facts, withhold relevant information, or otherwise mislead the Court.”

受爱尔兰经济数据大幅下修拖累，欧元区首季经济由原估增长0.1%修正为萎缩0.2%。 （彭博社／示意图）

欧元区经济今年初出现萎缩，爱尔兰经济遭遇前所未有的下滑导致原本显示的微弱增长向下修正。

彭博社报道，欧洲统计局星期五（6月5日）公布，第一季度欧元区国内生产总值（GDP）下滑0.2%，初值为增长0.1%。这主要是由于爱尔兰GDP大幅下修为萎缩12.1%。

大量总部位于爱尔兰的跨国公司常常会扭曲欧元区的整体数据，但第一季度的大幅下滑使得判断该地区经济走向变得愈发困难。这增加了欧洲央行任务的复杂性，使其在评估中东冲突影响并制定适当的货币政策应对时面临更大挑战。

除爱尔兰的数据外，一些主要经济体的统计数据近日也修正。法国经济陷入萎缩，意大利的数据则好于初值。